Soccer & Media: The Amateur Game

I often write about the “Amateur Game.” I have carved a niche where my words about our game, the amateur one, have weight and have an audience. The first piece led to the second and so on. In the middle during the high season of the National Cups, things became more news and publicity. The coverage of the East Penn State and the Region I Cup competitions were different than the lofty descriptions of what amateur soccer does that relied so much on sublimity. What I found was that for both styles of written content, I had an audience.

It was at the National Championship Series, which included the National Cup Finals, where discussion took place amongst a few passionate keepers of the game, about not only the continuity of the National Cups, but also the visibility of them.

The thought became, that if no one is promoting the cups, spreading the word about the gameplay itself and commenting generally on the beauty and necessity of them, then someone should be.

Moviemakers interviewed about the success of their projects often speak to the idea that they make films that they themselves and their immediate peers would want to see. That same passion I grew up in and saw in the players and coaches at my local level, as well as that group earlier noted as the keepers of the game. What needed to be done was to put the same point of view to work on a media center for all of the cups. For a country wide series of competitions online made the most sense, as it can reach the audience coast to coast if it is successful.

Therefore, amateurcupmedia.com was born. The domain is simple and easy to remember. It is of note that inspiration was certainly taken from a soccer friend, Josh Hakala and his uber-successful US Open Cup site, thecup.us. If U.S. Amateur Cup Media, can achieve even a fraction of the success of thecup.us it will serve its purpose.

This is a great undertaking and the plans for how to do what needs to be done are not even yet complete at this time. This site needs the support of its audience, but it needs too, the support of the Regions, the State Associations, the leagues, clubs, players, and administrators of our game.